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# Chart of Accounts and Account Numbering

# Chart of Accounts

The Chart of Accounts is like a table of contents for your financial organization. The best way to conceptualize a chart of accounts is as a tree. The main branches represent entire categories or groups, while the leaves of the tree denote individual bank accounts or expense categories. When a summary report is requested, typically only the main branches are shown in the report, rather than the individual accounts. For example, a chart of accounts might look like the following: ``

300 Expenses
|
+--310 Living Expenses
| |
| +--311 Beer
| |
| +--312 Cable
|
+--320 Business Expenses
| |
| +--321 8-inch Floppies
| |
: :

Note that accounts not only have names; they have codes, in order to provide order. When a report is generated, the sort order is determined by the numbering. It's customary to have the "leaf" accounts end in non-zero digits, while parent nodes have increasing numbers of zeros. For instance, "cash" accounts might logically be arranged thus:

- Overall Assets:

      100

  - Overall Cash:

        110

    - Cash in Wallet:

          111

    - Cash in Sock in Closet:

          112

    - Cash in Mattress:

          113

    - Petty Cash Box:

          114

  - Overall Banking Assets

        120

    - Checking Account

          121

    - Savings Account

          122

When you create a new account, GnuCash suggests an appropriate account code; you are free to change this. GnuCash does not prevent duplicate numbering, although we would encourage you to avoid this. Account codes are treated as numbers in base-36, thus, if you run out of numbers, you can use the letters, a through z.

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Preferences |  | A Sample Chart of Accounts